Review of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Welcome folks to this blog article as we really apart and examine this episode of the Hobbit series.

There is danger in starting at the top. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy set the bar for his movies so high that the Hobbit series have struggled to reach. Critics received the first and second Hobbit movies, An unexpected journey and Desolation of Smaug, with skepticism.

Perhaps they expected Peter Jackson to outdo the Lord of the Rings and deliver an epic. Jackson himself promised the last of the Hobbit series to be the best of them. Maybe it is or more likely it is not.

Now if you ask Joe from Cesspool Service Long Island, he also does not think that it was Jackson’s best work, but it was more of a money grab from theater goers.

Weak plot

The biggest undoing of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has been the weak plot. A comparison with the Lord of the Rings is inevitable. In the Rings we follow Frodo’s journey, and that of his friends. We feel his fear, frustration, joy and other emotions. In the Return of the King I almost jumped for joy and hugged the screen when he succeeds in his mission. You yourself experience his victory.

In the Hobbit the plot has not been strong. Jackson makes the Hobbit series like one long action set. While there is continuation in the movies, one does not identify with the Hobbit’s adventures as strongly as with Frodo’s. I felt like I had watched the three movies non-stop just wishing the good guys win the fight.

Great scenes

You cannot grudge Jackson for doing what he does best. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is a lesson in the role of CGI in modern cinema. He really lays it on thick in this last movie. Perhaps too thickly. I felt like I was watching the climax for the whole two and half hours. I felt like I came away with eye torsion from all that action. For CGI buffs this movie scores A+ but if you like a bit of conversation now and then you will be a bit disappointed.

Characters

The character development is a bit weak in the movie. I was hard pressed to identify my hero. Maybe it was because of all the fighting while a bit of talk could have brought out the characters better.

Redeeming scenes

The movie has its brilliant moments too. There is that early scene where we see the origin of Sauron. It feels kind of like a side story but is great nonetheless. The ending is also great with Gandalf doing his thing. The credits can be give credit too. They are well done with great music. Watch this movie for its great pictures but not for an interesting end to the Hobbit trilogy.